Matt Garman and Rebecca Schuller don’t have a professional sound studio, a staff of sous chefs, or FoodNetwork’s budget. But they do have a camera, a blog, and a good idea; and that’s all it took to start their own cooking show.
Garman and Schuller, brother and sister from Turlock, came up with the idea for their cooking show while watching Food Network on a recent visit to their parents’ house. They were watching a cooking show when they realized they could do the same thing and host it on the Internet. Garman is a freelance videographer and an aspiring film maker. Schuller is a stay-at-home mom and graduate student with experience cooking for her family.
“I enjoy cooking and I think it’s something anyone can do if they know how. We try to show how to cook each recipe step by step so people can try it at home,” Schuller said.
Garman and Schuller started “Simply Good: Cooking with Rebecca” as a once-a -week cooking show that focuses on step-by-step demonstrations of easy but tasty recipes. Schuller is the on-screen talent and Garman is the producer. The show might be filmed in their parents’ kitchen, but Garman and Schuller put production value into every episode. They set up professional lighting, film from several angles, and Garman manages to edit the videos to look like they were shot with two cameras.
“We really thought it through before we started filming. Neither of us have a kitchen that is laid out well for filming so we decided to do it here,” Garman explained.
Each episode is between five and nine minutes long, but they take about an hour each to film. Garman and Schuller filmed 26 episodes ahead of time and they plan to post one episode a week to their YouTube channel, SimplyGoodShow.
“We hope the show does find an audience. People with any variety of interests are able to start shows on the Internet. YouTube gives people an outlet to actually be seen,” Garman said.
Schuller posts a blog entry along with each video that lists the recipe for each dish. Many of the recipes are old favorites, but some she researches specifically for the show. On Friday, for example, Garman and Schuller made a pumpkin spice latte that rivaled the café variety. That recipe took some practice and research, but Schuller eventually found one that tasted good and was less expensive than the store bought variety. Several of their videos demonstrate how to make popular restaurant dishes at home.
“We actually eat everything we make for the show. And when I’m shopping I try to pick things that are less expensive so the recipes stay affordable,” Schuller said.
She said that the hardest part of making a cooking video is explaining each step in a way that viewers can replicate at home.
“Some of these things I have been making for years, and I know how much of each ingredient to use by memory. I don’t really think about the measurements until I have to write the recipe down,” Schuller said.
Garman said that making a cooking show with his sister has been a good experience for the whole family. They often get together for family dinners to eat their latest creation. Although they hope to find a following for their cooking show they are just enjoying the experience for now.
“Simply Good: Cooking with Rebecca” can be found at simplygoodblog.blogspot.com, or on YouTube under the channel name SimplyGoodShow.
To contact Andrea Goodwin, e-mail agoodwin@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2003.
